Trauma causes fear and significant psychological, physical, or emotional harm.
Trauma in children can have detrimental impacts on their physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being.
Sometimes, they internalize their feelings and have limited language in their emotional state.
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When reacting to stress, they may respond strongly and unpredictably and have difficulty de-escalating their heightened emotions.
Some children may become emotionally numb to dangerous situations, which can cause them to be vulnerable tore-traumatization.
As a result, they may give up quickly on tasks as soon as they feel frustrated.
When the brain prioritizes recognizing and responding to threats, it impacts skill acquisition and delays development.
Parts of the brain that are affected include the limbic system, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex.
The prefrontal cortex is responsible for emotional regulation, attention, cognition, executive function, and impulse control.
Specifically, exposure to trauma causes the immune system to activate inflammatory responses for a prolonged period of time.
This can cause children to be more susceptible to illnesses such as metabolic syndrome, asthma, and infections.
The immune system’s constant stimulation can cause the sick syndrome.
Some of the signs include lethargy, headaches, and stomachaches.
Another physical sign that a child has experiencedcomplex traumais body dysregulation.
Body dysregulation is when the body over-responds or under-responds to sensory stimuli.
For instance, the child may be hypersensitive to noise, touch, light, or smells.
They may complain about pain in parts of their body where there is no physical cause.
Consequently, they may hurt themselves physically without knowing.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
After a traumatic event, it can be difficult to focus on how to move forward.
Supporting a child during their healing is crucial to prevent them from suffering the long-lasting effects of trauma.
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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Helping children and youth who have traumatic experiences.
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The National Child Traumatic Stress data pipe.About child trauma.
Child Mind Institute.Signs of trauma in children.
